This is the last time I’ll say this: y’all gotta realize that forcing the infantilized Peter Pan trope onto Michael is anti black. Michael was loved by white dominated media when they could paint him as this innocent, yet mysterious, religious boy with a clean image. Part of his initial marketability was being a “safe” and non threatening black superstar with a child’s brain. He was treated like this other worldly person. The media was basically like, “look at this soft spoken black man who doesn’t smoke or drink or sing only about sex and violence!” like he was a rare spectacle. As soon as he showed maturity or anything outside of their projections, he was demonized and the headlines worsened.

There is a “brute” stereotype towards black men that is subconsciously embedded into our culture, treating them like they are inherently aggressive or sexually deviant. An alternative to this caricature is a submissive and childlike stereotype, romanticizing Michael’s demeanor to make him seem more digestible for the white gaze.